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Asian Markets Close Lower
As War Appears Imminent

A Wall Street Journal Online NEWS ROUNDUP

Updated March 17, 2003 8:04 a.m. ET

Asian-Pacific markets finished lower Monday, as the diplomatic deadlock over Iraq appeared to break in the direction of war.

The U.S. has advised United Nations weapons inspectors to begin pulling out of Iraq, the U.N. nuclear agency's chief said Monday, in the clearest sign yet that war with Iraq is imminent. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the advice was given late Sunday both to his nuclear...